India’s Wheat Exports

Why in news?

Egypt which is one of the largest importers of wheat, had agreed to source the cereal from India.

What is the status of India’s wheat exports?

Wheat is the second-most-produced cereal grain behind maize and India is the second largest producer next to China.

• Russia is the market leader for wheat exports (almost 15% share) and Ukraine is also a major producer.
• India expects to produce 112 million tonnes of wheat in the current season.
• The government requires 24-26 million tonnes a year for its food security programmes.
• With surplus wheat production, opportunities have opened up and this fiscal and exports in FY23 is set to beat the target of 10 million tonnes.
• Apart from Egypt and Jordan, countries in East Africa are also likely to source the food grain from India.
• Reasons for high scope for India
  • Competitive price
  • Acceptable quality
  • Availability of surplus wheat
  • Geopolitical reasons

What is being done to facilitate the exports?

The APEDA was established under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act, 1985 under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

• The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and Ministry of Agriculture are sending delegations to several countries to resolve market issues.
• The Commerce Ministry has put in place an internal mechanism to facilitate and get the paperwork ready for the related sanitary and phytosanitary applications to help facilitate shipments.
• The railways is providing rakes on priority to move the wheat.
• Testing laboratories are all geared up to complete the Pest Risk Analysis for countries to provide market access.

Pest Risk Analysis is the process of evaluating biological or scientific and economic evidence to determine whether an organism is a pest, whether it should be regulated, and the strength of any phytosanitary measures to be taken against it.

What is the future outlook?     

• The government is optimistic about the long-term export opportunities not only for wheat, but for all cereals including millets and super foods.
• If Indian wheat prices remain competitive and geopolitical and weather conditions stay favourable, the scope is good for wheat exports.
• India has already won the confidence of markets such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh but needs to establish itself in the new markets too.

References

1. https://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/explained-why-is-india-looking-to-boost-wheat-exports/article65326806.ece?homepage=true
2. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/wheat-production-by-country
3. https://apeda.gov.in/apedawebsite/about_apeda/about_apeda.htm
4. https://www.cabi.org/publishing-products/pest-risk-analysis-tool/
5. https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Wheat

Quick facts

Wheat

• Wheat includes any agricultural cereal grass of the genus Triticum in the grass family Poaceae.
• It produces a dry, one-seeded fruit commonly called a kernel (caryopsis).
• Wheat and barley were the first cereals known to have been domesticated. Wheat originated in Southwest Asia in the area known as the Fertile Crescent..
• The earliest archaeological evidence for wheat cultivation comes from the Levant (large area in Middle East) and Turkey.
• Gluten forms the major part of wheat protein.